Here and Then and Now
There are very few things that could make Chloe Price sappy on the outside. Her badass, take no shit from anyone attitude was a regular part of how she presented herself to others on a daily basis. Only those who knew her very well knew what a softie she was. One was Max, whose hand she was holding under the table, the other was Rachel who smiled at them like a cat who got the cream... and the other one was a different version of herself who was sitting next to Rachel.
This situation was a confusing mess. Ever since she reunited with Max again it has been one weird mess after another and this one, well this one that was supposed to end with her as the cool hero ended with her stranded along with Max, who had already been living in this reality for three years.
"Longer hair looks good on you." Rachel commented sincerely.
"Thanks." It was odd getting compliments from her old lover who was no longer dead. That thought alone should freak her out but few things freaked her out anymore.
Rachel turned to her version of Chloe and twirled her hair around her finger, "Chloe you should let your hair grow out too."
"No way in hell. This is one of the only ways you're telling us apart. What if you got confused and kissed the wrong me? Do you have any idea how awkward that'd be?"
"Yeah, you'd need therapy for sure babe." She leaned over and kissed her girlfriend's cheek. "Don't worry, there's only one Chloe for me and that's you."
"Not according to what you said last night." Chloe mumbled into her coffee mug which caused the other one to choke on hers and for Max to pat her on the back.
"Ew, god why? Why are you... Max, rewind and make it so I never hear that again." She groaned while Rachel chuckled. She was having so much fun, the most out of everyone here it seemed.
"You won't but I'll remember forever." Max glanced at her friend who mouthed a quick apology. "And I like your long hair a lot too."
"Thanks Super-Max, I'm thinking of going green. You know for the environment and all that." Chloe reached for a cookie but instead of eating it she offered it to Max who blushed but ate it.
"You two are so fucking cute!" Rachel sighed, "Must be a lot, reuniting after years apart huh? It's like something right out of a romantic play."
Her Chloe snorted, "Now I know why you're enjoying this so much."
"It's not just that. Now Max and I can compare notes." She winked at Max who looked like she was about to melt through the floor.
"About what?!" Both Chloes asked in unison which made Rachel laugh harder.
After she had her fun they discussed their next plan of getting Max and Chloe home. Max could still talk to Tristan but without a storm strong enough they were pretty much stuck. Again. The good news was there should be another storm coming soon but they didn't know if it would be days or weeks.
"At least we got a plan this time." Chloe stretched her arms over her head and then promptly threw them around Max's shoulders. "This is gonna be like a vacation." She kissed Max's cheek, "Then I'm taking you home and not letting you out of the house for like a week."
"You have a house?" Max looked at her, surprised, completely ignoring the implications of what Chloe said.
"Yup, a real cool place and I can't wait for you to see it."
"Moving in together already? The other me moves fast." The other Chloe had her head on Rachel's shoulder. Now it seemed she was joining in on the fun of teasing them.
"Three years ain't that fast. Besides we lived together before just not dating and living together. That'll be new." She pressed her thumb over Max's knuckles and mentally counted the freckles there. Three years was a long time, she missed her... girlfriend? "Oh fuck, hold on... Max are we dating?"
Max's eyes widened and she tried to back up against the couch now that all eyes were on her. "Yes?"
"Not very convincing if you ask me." Rachel poked Max's cheek affectionately.
"Why are you so happy about this? Isn't it weird that another version of me is your girlfriend?" Asking wasn't gonna help her much since she knew Rachel always did what she wanted. Just like she remembered her. Some things never change.
Instead of simply giving an answer the actress decided to play devil's advocate. "I've been watching this one pining and sighing heavily since I met her. At first I couldn't figure out who all that fuss was over. She's usually a real sunshine too. Then we found out about her powers and she told me about her timeline and her Chloe." Max was a blushing mess, embarrassed cause both Chloes now knew how lovesick she was. "And I know better than anyone what it takes to love Chloe Price, of course I'd support this."
"Damn Rachel. You... I kinda wanna kiss you for caring about Maxi-pad so much but uh, it's a bit weird now."
"Not for me." The other Chloe replied quickly and pulled her girlfriend in for a kiss. For the first time since Max appeared here she didn't feel a jealous longing. After all her Chloe was right there next to her. But she wasn't bold enough to kiss her out in the open like that. They only shared... well the number of kisses was debatable depending on the timeline but it was less than a handful.
"Don't worry Max, I'll kiss you as soon as we get some time alone." That wasn't very likely to happen any time soon. Thankfully both Rachel and Chloe happened to overhear their little talk.
"Shit. Chloe look at the time, we gotta go or we'll miss a meeting for my next gig." Rachel tugged Chloe's shirt and luckily she went along with it.
"I don't know anything about that." Max wasn't left out of those things usually, not with her artistic eye. The two suspects exchanged a glance.
"It's fine Max, it should only take..." Chloe did some math in her head, not her favorite thing, "...a few hours. You two catch up." She grabbed the keys and a pair of Rachel's favorite glasses on the way out the door.
"We'll talk about it later Max! Have fun!"
As they walked outside Chloe grinned, "That wasn't subtle at all."
"But it worked. Thank you for helping out." Rachel took Chloe's hand in her own. "Is it weird to think about how you just helped our best friend get laid with a different version of you?"
"Yes, and I don't want to think about it." No matter what the timeline Chloe Price was a sweetheart.
Back in the shared apartment Chloe couldn't help but laugh. "Well that... wasn't subtle."
"What wasn't?" Max asked, still a bit confused as to why they got left behind. Sure it might be a bit odd to walk around with two versions of Chloe but as long as no one asked too many questions they could pass them off as twins. Who was she kidding, their friends always ask.
"Seriously Max? You didn't catch that?" The punk grabbed Max's wrist and pulled her towards herself. "You went to Blackwell, how are you still so clueless? They got out of our way so we could fuck each others brains out."
"So we could... oh! I didn't want them to... this is their place too, kicking them out makes me feel like a jerk."
"Did you want them to watch? You nerdy types are always into the kinkiest shit." Chloe's eyes drifted to Max's lips and stayed there.
"No, don't you start too. I've had to take enough shit from Rachel ever since she found out I like you. She's been a bit curious about what our life was like."
"Please don't tell me I have to get jealous over an alternate version of my ex. Cause I will! I just prefer not to cause... yeesh, she can be scary." She shook her head remembering all the trouble Rachel and her got into. She was always there to save Chloe's ass but to yell at her too when she did something really stupid or dangerous.
"I promise I'm not in love with Rachel. Only you. And I'm not sure if having sex is the best idea." Max blushed a pretty pink but she still let Chloe pull her to the couch and onto her lap. "I uhm... still have trouble keeping control when adrenaline hits."
Chloe grinned and rolled her hips upwards into Max's. "Telling me that was a bad idea. Now all I can think about is you rubbing one out before each of our meetings."
"Perv! That's not why! What if I remember and you don't?" Max, always so nervous about disappointing others.
"Technically we could have fucked a hundred times by now and I wouldn't know. But I know you're not the kind of person to use your powers for evil." She cupped the back of her girlfriends neck and kissed the soft edge of her jaw. "Once we get back home we'll figure it out. For now I wanna be with you, get to know your new life, again. Feel free to tell Rachel we banged all over the place though."
"Gross, I live here." Max smiled into Chloe's next kiss.
"And I have a reputation to keep, Max."